Memeorandum

November 19, 2018

If Money Talks...

For Democratic strategists eager to advance a younger nominee contrasting with President Donald Trump, O’Rourke’s appeal rests on his perceived ability to bridge a gulf within the party — between Democratic contenders who are older but come with pre-existing donor networks, and Democrats who are younger but have not yet developed a substantial fundraising base. O’Rourke, at 46, has both.

I've said many times that Republicans want to nominate Ike or Reagan. hence the preference for elder statesmen such as Bush 41, Bob Dole, McCain '08 (but not the 2000 insurgent!), Romney '12, etc.

Democrats, on the other hand, are desperate to nominate a young, energetic, telegenic John Kennedy. Or Robert. But definitely young, in part because older normally means Positions Taken and Factions Alienated - Bill Clinton and Barack Obama had the blank slate thing working for them. John Kerry was a bit of an exception but since he had been a stealth Senator he was virtually free of legacy barnacles. Hillary of course was the Establishment "We Owe You One" pick and we saw how that worked out (She won the popular vote!).

Masterful battle plan. The Colonials had their back to a river. When Tarleton cornered them he charged. Unknown to him, the Colonial militia had been ordered to fire and retreat. Carleton with no respect for the abilities of the militia thought he had a rout on his hands and chased after them. The last line of defense were Colonial Soldiers who gave no ground.

The intentionally routed militia combined with cavalry held in reserve in the rear, advanced, counter attacked, and double enveloped the British from both sides from the rear.

Tarleton's rout turned into his defeat.

That tactic shows up in one of the battles in "The Patriot". No one on the British side respects the valor of the militia. So the Americans work that into their battle plan. The British continue to advance as the militias complete a planned retrograde movement. Until they come up against a line of Colonial soldiers, now backed up by the militia who were told to retreat, but only to that line.

Local Radio reports that yesterday was the shortest day of the year for Barrow Alaska.

I thought it would have been the Winter Solstice, but the explanation was that the sun rose yesterday in Barrow at 12:46 PM and set 50 minutes later at 01:36 PM. Next time the sun pops above the Horizon in Barrow is January 21st at 01:08 PM, when it rises, then sets 58 minutes later. Brrrrr.

Never saw that Movie but my Pop grew up near King's Mt on the North/South Carolina border and I recall him telling me that that was a battle where our men armed with rifles decimated Loyalist troops armed with muskets. I read up on it and recall that our guys showed no quarter upon the Loyalists because of their hatred for what Banastre Tarleton had previously done to their countrymen. Wiki seems to agree

It appears it comes down to whether or not the River was navigable prior to Statehood, with a couple umbra's and penumbra's thrown in. Nice to see a Lawsuit for a change that isn't entirely political in nature.

Daddy,
She’s very smart.
We’ve had a multi year battle going on in my little burg regarding who owns the beach. The IN Supreme Ct says homeowners own to the OHWM, but left the OHWM open to multiple interpretations. The State owns the land north of the OHWM in trust for public use. The US Supremes will decide next year whether they hear the case. That issue has been a real shit show around here.

Tarleton was responsible for one or several instances where Colonial troops surrendered to him only to be executed.

The Colonial and militia troops remembered that.

Tarleton disclaimed responsibility for his actions, but it stiffened the backbone of the colonials in the same way that the Bastogne massacres did.

Fight to the death, as they are going to kill you if you surrender was the thought in southern battles against the British.

Northern battles were often decisive. Southern battles were usually shoot and skoot, or guerilla warfare. The aim of the American army was to engage where useful and then withdraw from the pursuit. They forced Cornwallis to follow them, without a decisive battle.

Cornwallis couldn't keep up with his long support column and eventually abandoned it.

He wound up chasing them into Virginia. Washington's army slipped to the south. The southern army boxed in Cornwallis and the rest is history.

In the North, the British were pushed out of Massachusetts. The battle of Saratoga was a rout of the British. Kentucky long-rifles destroyed the chain of command. The only things the British controlled after that was the port of New York and parts of New Jersey.

Rather than continue that fight, Cornwallis was directed south to Charleston.

At Saratoga, colonial forces whether troops or militias swarmed from everywhere to defeat the British decisively and completely.

The Hudson River became a demarcation line.

Corwallis was meant to divide the new nation by controlling the south. He failed due to his inability to extinguish guerilla warfare and his inability to destroy the southern army, which fought when useful, and otherwise stayed out of his grasp as he couldn't catch up with them.

Had Cornwallis destroyed the southern army, our history would be different. But they knew that and led him on a merry chase. Always staying slightly ahead of him.

Cornwallis, having abandoned his supply line, had to re-establish one at Yorktown.

And then the southern army on his heels, combined with the northern army which had slipped away, undetected from the north, combined with the French fleet, and won.

Cornwallis, a great general, had no choice at Yorktown, he was surrounded and his forces could have been reduced by artillery without defense, surrendered.

The war began in the north, but was won in the south.

It is, if you think about it an interesting military strategy, we don't have to win every battle, we just need to survive to face the next battle. As long, as we are here, we are winning. We only lose if they take us all out at once.

I am going to copy that tweet and post it here so that people don'nt have to read all of the nasty replies.

Donald J. Trump
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
I hope the discovery and eventual recovery of the Argentine submarine San Juan brings needed closure to the wonderful families of those brave missing sailors. I look forward to hearing more from my friend President @MauricioMacri
in Argentina later this month.

Having served in Afghanistan with Adm. McRaven, I have personally witnessed his patriotism & love of country. He is an American hero & has always served our country with honor. I’m grateful for his service and sacrifices for our freedom.

For the President to willingly wade into a dispute with Admiral McRaven, that guy *must* figure into some as yet unknown foolishness that's going to make him look quite bad.

It would be interesting to get the scoop from some Texas Aggies (his tenure at UT was cut short; the man never met a big and get bigger project he didn't like) but I suspect McRaven is a guy many in the military despise as a politican first; the types seriously advanced during the Obama Administration. Perhaps of the Robert Mueller variety.

The press often describes him as the architect of the bin Laden raid. I highly doubt that. When it occurred and used Navy SEALs instead of Delta Force, I was very surprised. I think that was a political decision as well. We're seeing some strange missteps with the SEALs these days; publicity-seeking missteps. And now a murder of a Green Beret in Africa.

The Obama Administration screwed a bunch of things up with the military. Democrats, even if military, tend to bend to social justice warrior foolishness.

McRaven likely has some serious skeletons. We're probably going to see them exposed down the road.

Good morning, re military side arms, I bought a pair of M9s in ‘89 (consecutive S/Ns). One for me and one for Jr’s graduation that spring. Fabricated custom grips and had his engraved by one of the best engravers in the country. The M9 was my first auto loader so when I started shooting it, I was surprised that I could not hold it on center of target. Always 8 o’clock groups. Even sent it back for a factory tuneup. After never improving on the patterns, I finally bought a Kimber 1911 which hit dead center every time. Flash forward nearly 30 yrs and a lot of lead through both bores, I discovered on my last outing in Tucson, that a slight grip change solved the grouping on the M9. The Baretta has a reverse curve on the front of the trigger guard. The off hand index finger naturally falls in place there. What I had never tried was to pull back on that finger extremely hard. More force than the natural force of the basic two hand grip. Voila! The groups tightened up and fell dead center. Of all my various handguns, none ever exhibited any sort of bias like that. The 1911 would put the bullet exactly where your sight picture was when you saw the flash in the gap of the sights. Very strange.

henry-twas always the plan to use either cooling or warming as the excuse to legally impose Bioecological systems theory via legislation and quiet regulation.

Ties right now to the SDGs as well wth their template that no one globally be "left behind' by 2030. Probably a good thing a tracked down all hos MH and cybernetics books from conferences whn I did several years ago. is time I blieve they would get torched, not sold used after being withdrawn from shelves.

Problem with saring the kitchen is discovering at 6:55 this morning there was no bking powder to make the cornbread tha needs to dry out well before making thursday dressing.

This is an act of sedition by @SenWarren She's recruiting for the "Resistance". Antifa is the resistance. "The Resistance" went to Tucker Carlson's home, threatening his family with pipe bombs, his wife hid in a closet. They riot, attacking & beat people.

He was chief of spec ops who was the overall boss, but as for planning the mission that was much lower down thr chain of command. Allegedly thr reason why they chose that day was the Wikileaks about qahtani that revealed the couriers identity had been released that week.

2 years ago orange county sent an 80% republican delegation to congress. this year, 100% democrat. even though they voted overwhelmingly for the republican, little known john cox, for governor, they somehow split their ballots to vote in democrats for congress. makes no sense. in fact, it stinks.

Not true about McRaven. Was fully involved with the planning for Operation Neptune Spea, the op that killed OBL. Obama & Panetta both have noted publically that it was McRaven's operation with CIA support. His issue with Trump was that he is a "Bushie". Got his first flag from W, later under Obama got his 4th star.

It was his command (Spec Ops, and no way in hell he wouldn't be intimatedly involved in all the details. He was the one who came up the 3 different scenarios for approval: SEAL raid via chopper; A B-2 strike; and, a plan using Pakistani military but only tell them full plan hours before. Panetta, Biden, and Obama greenlighted the SEAL Op.

One other point, he was a big buddy of John Brennan, and when Trump revoked Brennan's clearance McRaven wrote to Trump asking him to do the same thing to his clearance.

Frederick has his book, "Make Your Bed", based on the remarks he made to the U. of Texas graduating class of 2014. Now if only Frederick would follow all his instructions:)

Regarding McRaven, here's an interesting somewhat related article on the subject of retired general officers making public endorsements of presidential candidates (forgive the length; I absolutely agree with the conclusion by retired Army officers Steve Corbett and Michael J. Davidson):

The public endorsement of presidential candidates by retired general officers reflects a disturbing trend toward the politicization of the American military, and concomitantly, a gradual departure from the nonpartisan professional military ethic. This modern trend began subtly with the candidacy of Dwight D. Eisenhower but has taken a very disturbing and public turn as prominent retired officers began to endorse candidates. What was once considered inappropriate behavior has now become commonplace.

This article will review the history of the development, and gradual erosion, of a professional military ethic of political neutrality. Further, the article will examine the current state of permissible military participation in the political process. Finally, the authors posit that active and public participation of retired military officers in partisan politics, in their capacity as retired military officers, should be discouraged as potentially damaging to the US armed forces in both material and philosophical ways. If the military of a democracy is politically partisan, it is, in effect, damaging to democracy itself in that the military does not serve in the fullest, most impartial manner.

[ * * * ]

Within the military community, there is no consensus of opinion concerning the propriety of public endorsements by retired senior officers. In response to the endorsements of George W. Bush for President in 2000, one retired Army colonel posited, “A retired four-star general represents the institution that produced him and by definition should remain apolitical.” A retired Marine lieutenant general took a more forceful position: “A senior officer should realize that by lending his name or title, he or she is being ‘used’ by a politician . . . . [T]o lend one’s name and title to a political campaign is a form of prostitution.” One critic of such endorsements pointed out “that four-stars never really ‘retire’ but, like princes of the church, embody the core culture and collectively represent the military community as authoritatively as the active-duty leadership.”

In contrast, several senior retired military officers argue that once they leave active duty they, like any other citizen, are free to participate in partisan politics. In his memoirs, Admiral Crowe justified his endorsement of Clinton, opining that once a professional military officer “leaves active service, he is then completely free to express his opinion in any legitimate fashion and to participate fully in the country’s political life.” Taking a passionate position on the matter in a letter published in The Wall Street Journal, retired Army General John Shalikashvili, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention and endorsed Senator John Kerry for President, reinforced the political neutrality of the active military but defended the “responsible” participation of retired military officers in the political process as “a responsibility to our nation that is both honorable and consistent with their military service.”

[ * * * ]

Article 88 of the UCMJ prohibits contemptuous speech directed at the President and Vice President, both of whom could be running as presidential candidates. In theory, a retired officer, acting as such, who publicly criticizes a sitting President or Vice President in a contemptuous manner could be court- 70 Parameters martialed for such conduct. Courts-martial leveled against retirees are exceedingly rare, however, and only one reported court-martial of a retiree exists for contemptuous speech. It resulted in an acquittal. The case involved a retired Army musician who said in 1918 that President Woodrow Wilson and the government were “subservient to capitalists and ‘fools to think they can make a soldier out of a man in three months and an officer in six.’”56

In addition, application of the UCMJ to retired officers in an attempt to curb their political speech would create significant First Amendment challenges.

[ * * * ]

In the near-term, the most effective restraint on political endorsements is the military itself. Before this problem can be fixed, however, the military as an institution has to first determine that the professional military ethic of political neutrality extends in at least some degree to the retired ranks in general, and in particular to political endorsements by retirees acting in their retired military capacity. To the extent that this problem can be corrected given the long-term, gradual erosion of the political neutrality of retired senior officers, and the apparent dearth of legal constraints, the solution for this institutional malady should come from the military itself. Retired officers who achieve flag rank have usually spent the majority of their adult professional lives in the armed forces. They have embraced the military’s culture and value system and should be sensitive and responsive to criticism leveled by institution representatives with respect to their behavior after retirement.

Had dinner last night here in LA with a few Hollywood co-conspirators to save the republic. Lots of fun, and discussed some promising projects. I'd tell you who they are, but then Orphan X would have to shoot you.

Since two of Sleepy Jeff's most stubborn defenders are here, I have one question: if your malingering dunce of a hero was so fucking effective, would the commiecrats be so apoplectic at the thought of Whitaker replacing their elfin new hero? I don't think so and it's high time you transfer your ill considered affinity to that doddering codger back to the person who fired his underachieving ass.

Gail Heriot https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/313431/ has a neat discussion of an ancestor who lived through the Salem witch trials. Comments are good too. Maybe daddy can add some more and may even find some new cousins. ;)

Jim_nj: At Saratoga, colonial forces whether troops or militias swarmed from everywhere to defeat the British decisively and completely.

Saratoga was to be a pincer, with Barry St. Leger coming down from Canada via Lake Ontario along the Mohawk River through Ft. Stanwix in what is now known as Rome, Howe coming up from NYC, and meeting Burgoyne coming down Lake Champlain.

Howe never left NYC and St. Leger never got past Fort Stanwix, its reproduction within sight of my office.

--They understand the uselessness of "racial" labels--- when it came to racial identification and history, all that really matters is White, and Not White (Red, Black, Yellow, or Brown).

Tacking down one's racial identity is a fool's errand. Cultural exploration and identification will enrich one's life and the life of one's descendants. One's ethnic roots are worth learning about and understanding. Why? Subject for another soul grenade.--

Everyone's mileage seems to vary on this but I agree there is some value to learning and understanding ones ethnic roots.
The problem is, humans, being basically useless have a tendency to take it all sorts of terrible directions.
It leads to ethnic pride which always to some extent leads to pride in oneself, not just our ancestors or heritage.
It leads to tribalism and identifying oneself by your ethnicity which might have some positive attributes but can also be a straitjacket and a divisive, easily offended one.
It can lead to a reluctance to experience and understand "the other".
And in the case of a country like ours in which our pride and gratitude should be directed to our exceptional institutions which do their best to negate the preceding problems, it can lead to weakening the national bonds and appreciation for what those who went before us built.
Doesn't always lead to those things of course but we can see where the evil among us take it for their own evil ends.

As always God had it right when He told us;
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

I WANT TO BE LIKE FRANCIS: On this day in 1615, Francis Dane, later to become the Rev. Francis Dane, pastor of the North Parish Church in Andover, Massachusetts, was born. In 1658, he testified for the defense at a witchcraft trial, where he “judged against the probability”—a polite way to say that he though it was a warm pile of horse manure. The defendant was acquitted.

A man wielding a knife has stabbed an officer outside a police station in central Brussels, officials confirmed. The attacker reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack.
The incident took place in the Ixelles area, which is considered a wealthy part of the Belgian capital, on Tuesday morning.

The police officer suffered minor neck injuries in the attack, officials said, as cited by RTBF. One of the victim’s colleagues responded by firing at the assailant, injuring him in the chest.